The thistle is not earth’s most beautiful plant.
Nor is the purple urchin of its blossom excuse
for the ragged anger of its leaves and spines.
But its roots spread into its mother
like any flower’s and find water, a reason
to grow into color from ashen brown
of a mountain’s crumbling side.
Joe Roberts
Joe Roberts works as a copywriter in Salt Lake City. His poetry has been published in the journal petrichor, and he was featured on the Rocky Mountain Revival Podcast.